Week 2...

Click on over here to see my second week's photo challenge, or my pinterest board.

Happy Wednesday!

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

You need this recipe. Enough said.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

1 1/2 c dark chocolate chips, divided
3 egg whites
2 c powdered sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 T cornstarch
1/4 t salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or nonstick spray). Melt 1 c of the chocolate chips. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add dry ingredients, then add melted chocolate. Beat, then add remaining chocolate chips. Batter will be a little stiff. Use cookie scoop to form a ball, then roll in powdered sugar or cocoa powder. Bake about 10 minutes.

Enjoy! You can view the original recipe here.

6 Holiday Memories from 2011 | #3 An Advent Party!

Wow, I made it to Holiday Memory #3! I should have learned my lesson to never put a number on any blog series I'm doing, because it's no secret that I have a hard time finishing things! I'm really trying here, so hopefully we'll make it to 6 before next Christmas! :)

This December, I knew I wanted to do something similar to our Resurrection Eggs party from last Easter. This was basically a kids and moms' craft day with a holiday theme and a purpose. This year, we made Advent Calendars to count down the days until Jesus' birth.

This craft was very Pottery Barn inspired and I found some inspiration here.

I just thought I would quickly share how to do this in case you would like to host something similar for your children. First we invited 5 families and assigned that each person bring:

1 bulletin board

25 ornaments, 5 sets of 5 identical (handmade or store bought)

I supplied the muslin, batting, staple gun, paper, and pearl-end pins. Also someone brought metallic markers.

It was pretty simple- we just wrapped each board in 1 layer of batting then muslin, and stapled around the back. Then made the paper cut-outs with numbers 1-25. The kids had fun exchanging ornaments. We snapped a pictures of all the little kiddos...

And the moms, since we never get many pictures of ourselves these days. :)

And I want to give credit where credit is due. I am so thankful for my mother-in-law because she always has the best ideas, especially when it comes to activities and lessons for children. She made this craft with Callie, which I thought was so fun!

So feel free to archive this for next year and plan an Advent party of your own! :)

6 Holiday Memories from 2011 | #2 Decorating Our Home (on a budget) + Christmas Mail

This was the first Christmas (since we've been in our home) that I've really decorated for the holidays. Last Christmas I was due on December 26th, and the year before we had just moved into our house. So I decided to just have fun with it and decorate!

Every year at Thanksgiving at Kyle's parents' home, the girls do a Christmas craft. This year, we made wreaths out of greenery that we cut from some pine trees outside their home. What a revelation this was for me! I had no idea you could just cut your own greenery from pine trees outside to make wreaths like what you would buy in the store! Since we have a few coniferous trees in our own yard, I had fun putting greenery all around my house- in bowls of fruit, in mason jars in the bathrooms, and even hung a few bundles here and there. The house smelled like Christmas and it was pretty much free decorating!

Also, I found a fun wreath idea via Martha Stewart, here. The mini wreaths were only $2.50, and I hung them with 3M's removeable hooks. I think I will leave them up through January (read ribbon trick, below)

I noticed that Pottery Barn has been using quite a bit of burlap and natural materials lately in both their holiday decor (and non-holiday). Well that works well for me because that stuff is CHEAP! I used strips of it around my tree in place of ribbon (they were sold out of the burlap ribbon stuff), a bunch of it under my tree as a tree skirt, even as a table runner on our dining room table. Check out burlap if you want to decorate on a budget!

After I saw this fun picture (first one) I know I had found the perfect spot for all of our holiday cards! Clothes pins...I even had some in our storage room! I just love sending and receiving Christmas cards. It's fun to see everyone's kids and all of the beautiful families (and gorgeous family pictures). Besides, who doesn't love getting personal mail for once?

 And how could this post be complete without sharing our family's cards? The photos were taken by my friend and amazing photographer Annie Torrini. It was interesting to be on the other side of the camera for a change! I seriously, seriously over-analyzed what we should wear (since I'm usually the one giving others advice about this you could say I felt a little extra pressure), and somehow ended up putting together some outfits completely with clothing we already had in our closets! In case you are wondering, I'm a big fan of various solid colors (any color family works) with lots of texture (or layers or accessories) for families. See how we coordinate, but don't match? :)

I really enjoyed doing some greeting card design this year, I guess you could say it's a new hobby of mine. I'm just starting to get into more graphic design - I'm learning as I go! I find myself dreaming of logo ideas for businesses, noticing typography just about everywhere, and collecting fun ideas for card design just about everywhere (see our card, below and the scalloped-edge card, above).

Oh, before I go I wanted to share an amazing secret that I just discovered. Have you ever noticed those perfectly-cut v-shaped ribbons, like the one below? I very well might be the last person on earth to learn this, but it's totally revolutionized my gift wrapping abilities! :)

Well, that concludes our second holiday memory #2! Stay tuned for more!

6 Holiday Memories from 2011 | #1 Clara's First Birthday Party Vintage Rainbows

I know it sounds cliche, but I can't believe my baby girl is one already! On one hand, I wanted to do a simple celebration with just family, since her actual birthday is so close to Christmas - December 28th. On the other hand, I kind of went all out for Callie's first birthday with a French Bakery Theme, Petit Boulangerie, and to just do a cake for Clara simply felt wrong. :)

So I decided on a compromise. A small party with a cake and a few decorations. Since there was a page in her baby book for a birthday invitation, I felt I just had to do invitations.  I found my inspiration on Hostess With The Mostess for a Rainbow Theme First Birthday Party. That party is absolutely amazing and perfect but my, I learned from Callie's first birthday party that it's more about the kids and having fun then it is about elaborate decorations and perfect pictures of every detail. In an ideal world, I would do a party exactly like that one. Seriously my heart skips a  beat when I look at those beautiful pictures! But I have to admit, it's easy to cross the line from being more about the mom than about the birthday girl. Besides, I didn't even have the energy to go there just a few weeks before Christmas. :)

So I threw something together for an official invite (front and back)...

And here are some pictures. Just a few details, if you would like to throw a "vintage rainbow" theme birthday party. 

• I found rainbow ribbon at the fabric store and tied it on just about everything. 
• I also bought some colorful candy to add as party favors for the aunts, uncles, and cousin. 
• The labels are by Gartner Studios which I found at Michaels and stuck them on everything (designed the label/text on Photoshop). 
• Rainbow balloons - balloons have to be the cheaper party decoration ever and kids love them!

 There you have it! Clara's First Birthday Party. Clara, we love you so much and you are such a wonderful addition to our family! I am so lucky to be your mom. :)

30 Day Photography Challenge

Phew! It's a been a fun, crazy few weeks but there's definitely no place like home! I'm starting a fun little project, go here to see my first 7 days, or just follow my board on Pinterest! Make sure to catch my amazing friend Stephanie's progress too on her blog here.